Would it be smart to get a power amp...

if I'm getting another cabinet? Right now i have a Genz Benz 410 and I'm planning on getting a 1x15. I don't have the best head (Behringer BX3000T) and i don't want it to crap out on me. I'm just not clear about all of this power amp stuff and what they do...
If someone could:
1. explain to me what they do
and
2. tell me weather or not it would be a good idea to get one.

What impedance is your 4x10 and what is the impedance of the 1x15 you're going to get?

If they are not both 8 ohm you won't be able to run them both with your head.

I think getting a power amp is a great idea. I did the same thing when I owned a SVT-350. It is a step in the right direction if you want to eventually have a rack setup. Use the pre on your behringer for now, then when You have the cash find yourself a nice used preamp.

The problem you mentioned with your head potentially "crapping out" comes when you try to squeeze so much volume out of an underpowered head that you force it to clip, which will damage your speakers. Carvin and QSC both make inexpensive power amps that pump out significantly more volume than your current Behringer, and if your Behringer has a line out, you can use a bigger power amp to drive your cabs rather than the internal power amp in your current head (see previous posts). Just make sure you're making the right connections before you fire it up (people here who know more about Behringers will be able to answer more questions than I). With two 8 ohm cabs, the overall impedance of your cabs together is 4 ohms, so when you're comparing power amps, look for the output wattage at that impedance.

hey, your kinda in the same boat i am. i have a peavey mark iv, 210 watts and i run a 2x10. i bought a power amp and will use that and a the peaveys pre untill i can get a pre amp, and im gunna get a 1x15 to put under my 2x10. Then i will put it all in a rack case.

Assuming your Behringer has a line out that can be fed into the power amp, you do not need a preamp. Preamps only change the character of your tone, and you sounded like you were primarily concerned with volume, which a power amp would more than cover. If you like the way your head sounds now, you should be fine without another preamp.

So running an external power amp to the line out of my amp will bypass the heads power amp completely? Could this cause any damage to the head after awhile? Then I would just hook up my cabs, 4X10 & 1X15, to the back of the head as usual using those controls? My main and backup amp, Ashdown Evo 500 R/C & GK1001RB1, each about 500watts or so, have plenty of power for most gigs but outdoors I seem to need more power and would just like to have the added headroom anyway. Thought about getting a QSC 1400 for that use. My two bands never run anything but vocals and kickdrum thru the PA, so I have to push some big air against sax, 2 gitars & drums. Thanks, E.

Hey man. Humble eh? My band plays out there sometimes at Fuel??? and we're playing in spring on the 17th. But anyways. I was kinda wondering the same thing. For the most part, I understand the whole poweramp thing, so now, i don't know what I was going to say...but yea.

I think just run line out from your head, to the line in on the power amp and then run your speakers from the power amp.

on some heads, when the "limit" light comes on, does that mean it's clipping? if so, how can i prevent that?

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it depends on which head and where the "limit" light is. Some heads have limit or clip indicators on the preamp section and a sperate one on the poweramp section. But yeah, if a limit light comes on for the poweramp you're just starting to clip. How do you prevent that????? Turn down.
you can also try cutting the bass frequencies as well.

So running an external power amp to the line out of my amp will bypass the heads power amp completely?

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running the line out of your head won't bypass the poweramp of your head. you can run cabinets off of your head and the external poweramp at the same time. If you only run cabinets off of the external poweramp your head's poweramp should be fine as long as it's solid state YOu can double check with your amp's manufacturer to be 100% sure, but i havent seen any solid state units that get damaged from being on without a load. If you do that to an amp with a tube poweramp section, kiss it goodbye.